Hydraulically entangled nonwoven fabrics have many applications, such as tea bags, medical gowns, drapes, cover stock, food service, and industrial wipers. One type of hydraulically entangled nonwoven fabric may include two crimped spunbond layers sandwiching a cellulosic fiber layer. This fabric is primarily intended to be used as a launderable clothing material.
Although this fabric has advantages in applications such as clothing material, it has shortcomings in applications requiring abrasion resistance, such as, for example, industrial wipers. Consequently, using this fabric as an industrial wiper results in excessive lint particles and relatively low fabric durability. Another shortcoming is that manufacturing such fabric requires a bonding step after hydroentangling. This extra step may increase the cost of the fabric, and thus, reduce its desirability as an industrial wiper.
Accordingly, there is a need for a nonwoven fabric having at least three layers that has improved abrasion resistance and requires no additional bonding after hydroentangling.